Democrat Johnny Olszewski Jr. wins primary for Maryland's 2nd District congressional seat, will face Republican Kim Klacik

BALTIMORE — Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. will be the Democratic nominee in the race to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, setting up a November election between him and Republican Kim Klacik, who also won in Tuesday’s primary.

The Baltimore County-focused 2nd Congressional District was one of a few competitive primary races for congressional seats in the Baltimore region and in Western Maryland on the ballot Tuesday.

Olszewski was winning the five-way Democratic primary with about 82% of the vote as the race was called shortly after results started coming in.

About 120 people gathered in a room at Union Craft Brewing in Hampden to celebrate Olszewski’s victory when The Associated Press called the race around 8:45 p.m. Among those in attendance were Ruppersberger and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, who were introduced by Olszewski’s father, former Baltimore County Councilman John Olszewski Sr.

“I want to say something to Johnny Senior … you did a good job raising your son,” Cardin said to roars from the crowd. “Johnny [Jr.] has done a fabulous job. He has been a great leader for the region. He delivered every day for the people of Baltimore County.”

Cardin then introduced Olszewski Jr., who took to the stage with his family as Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” pounded through the speakers.

Olszewski thanked both Ruppersberger and Cardin for their service.

“This win isn’t mine, it’s ours,” he said, thanking his wife, Marisa, and daughter, Daria.

He declined to comment to a Baltimore Sun reporter on the coming matchup against Klacik, saying the night was for celebrating the primary win with supporters.

“It has been an honor to serve as Baltimore County executive. I think what we’ve done and what we’ll continue to do can serve as a model of what we can do to bring people together to face hard challenges,” he said. “We don’t hold back from tackling the hard challenges: housing, health care and everything in between.”

All eight of Maryland’s U.S. House districts have elections this year for new two-year terms. Five incumbents were running for reelection and were expected to win their party’s primaries Tuesday — Andy Harris, an Eastern Shore Republican, and Democrats Glenn Ivey, a Democrat representing most of Prince George’s County; Steny Hoyer, representing Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert counties; Kweisi Mfume, representing Baltimore City and parts of Baltimore County; and Jamie Raskin, representing Montgomery County.

A trio of other Democrats were not running again — Ruppersberger, who represents Baltimore County; John Sarbanes, who represents Howard County and parts of Anne Arundel and Carroll counties; and David Trone, who is running for U.S. Senate instead of reelection in the district covering Garrett, Allegany, Frederick, Washington and parts of Montgomery counties.

The three open seats are rare in Maryland as members usually win reelection easily, often for decades. Ruppersberger will have held his seat for 22 years when he retires in January. For Sarbanes, it will be 18 years.

And for both, the primary is expected to be the deciding moment in picking their replacements. Democrats are widely favored in both districts in November — a reality that led to a massive, 22-person field in the Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District.

State Sens. Sarah Elfreth and Clarence Lam, and Dels. Terri Hill, Mike Rogers and Mark Chang were among the highest-profile and most well-funded candidates in that district. Juan Dominguez, an Anne Arundel County businessman who originally launched a U.S. Senate campaign, was also running.

But the entrance of Harry Dunn created another wild card. A former U.S. Capitol Police officer who gained a national profile after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Dunn raised more than $4.6 million — roughly three times his closest fundraising competitor, Elfreth — and got the backing of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin signaled his support for Elfreth, in her second term representing Anne Arundel County, last week but did not formally endorse her.

Elizabeth Nidiritu, 52, took her 18-year-old daughter with her to cast a vote for Elfreth at Howard High School in Ellicott City.

“As I told [my daughter], every vote counts, and if you don’t vote, you can’t complain. And if [your candidate] loses, at least you voted,” Ndiritu said.

Jana Castle, 69, and Johnny Castle, 74, a couple who live in Columbia, said they were most excited to vote for Dunn and Prince George’s County Angela Alsobrooks in the U.S. Senate race.

“They stand for more of what we believe in, what’s important,” Jana Castle said. “We need to get somebody that has a better view, not a politician’s view. We need to get them in, to get some fresh blood in.”

A similarly crowded field of 15 Democrats and seven Republicans were vying for their respective party’s nomination in the Western Maryland district Trone is vacating.

The list of Democrats included Dels. Lesley Lopez and Joe Vogel; April McClain Delaney, who served in the Biden administration; and Tekesha Martinez, the mayor of Hagerstown.

Delaney, whose husband is former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, raised the most money — about $2 million as of late April and then another $825,000 in self-funding in recent days, according to her last campaign finance filing — and won the backing of officials like Pelosi, Raskin and Hoyer.

Republicans running in the district included former delegate and 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox, and former Del. Neil Parrott, who was the Republican nominee for the same seat in 2022 and 2020.

The open seat with the least amount of competition in Tuesday’s primary was Ruppersberger’s, for which Olszewski had started building a campaign even before the incumbent’s announcement to retire.

Ruppersberger endorsed Olszewski in February, handing the two-term county executive the advantage of being backed by an incumbent with deep pockets to represent the district, which covers Baltimore and Carroll counties, and part of Baltimore City.

In that district, Olszewski faced Del. Harry Bhandari, who touted his humble background as an American success story; Baltimore City high school arts teacher Sia Kyriakakos; medical assistant Jessica Sjoberg; insurance agent Clint Spellman; and HR specialist Sharron Reed-Burns.

Olszewski was winning with about 82% of the vote when the race was called. If he wins in November, he would step down as county executive and the Baltimore County Council will appoint someone to serve the remainder of his term, which ends in 2026.

On the Republican side, Klacik, Army veteran John Thormann, and Carroll County businessman Dave Wallace were running.

A Middle River radio host, Klacik last ran in the 7th Congressional District in 2020. Though she lost overwhelmingly to Mfume, her campaign raised an eye-popping $7 million after former President Donald Trump promoted her campaign on social media. She has so far not managed to replicate that fundraising feat.

____

(Baltimore Sun reporter Jonathan M. Pitts and Baltimore Sun Media reporters Sherry Greenfield, Allana Haynes and Thomas Goodwin Smith contributed to this article.)

____